Lost in Volterra
by TawnyOwl117
Summary: I tried hard not to fidget under the scrutinizing glare of three powerful vampires before me. Despite knowing this was just some horrible nightmare, it was still intimidating to be studied so intently by fictional characters. Almost instantaneously a gasp was heard as one of them stood forward and called, "Didyme?"
1. Preface

I had never had many aspirations for the future. I'd never wanted to be an actress or a singer. I'd always imagined myself meeting the perfect man, getting married, and having a family. I'd always loved getting lost in a good book, escaping to far off places that can only be dreamt of. Losing myself within the pages, imagining that I could have a love like Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty with an almost instantaneous attraction.

I didn't expect to find myself where I am now. I mean, it shouldn't have been possible. Every fibre of my being says it's impossible. Things like this only happen in books or on T.V. They don't happen to ordinary girls like me. It's always the glamorous girl, someone far more interesting than me.

But it's me that's here, not the glamorous girl. The rational side of my brain says I should be terrified, that I should want to run as far away as possible. But that irrational side, the one that tells you anything is possible, even the most outlandish thing imaginable, that side was saying this is where I belong. I didn't know which one was right. I guess it didn't matter anymore. The choice had been made for me.

I was going to die tonight.

**A/N**- I just want to thank everyone who has reviewed so far and waited so patiently for updates. I am currently re-writing this story with the help of an amazing beta FireStallion. Hopefully there won't be such a huge gap between updates.


	2. Chapter 1

The alarm buzzed in my ear an annoying reminder for the umpteenth time this year that I needed to get up and ready for school. I wasn't one to typically ignore the irritating device, but this morning was just one of those days where I really would have given anything to be able to hit the snooze button. I wasn't asking too much to have five extra minutes of sleep.

"Gemma, time to get up!"

My mother's sudden yelling was enough to get me upright in bed. There was a moment where I considered lying back down to finish my final five minutes, but that thought was quickly squashed when I remembered that she would just walk into my room in the next two minutes to roust me out of bed. That was decidedly more unpleasant than her yelling from the kitchen one floor below me. I had been through that unpleasantness more than enough times to know that I didn't particularly want to go through that this morning.

With a groan I pulled myself out of bed and went about finding my school uniform. Just like clockwork, there was a knock at my door with my mother on the other side.

"Gemma, are you up?"

"I'll be down now in a minute," I grumbled at the door.

"Good girl," she said in that chipper morning voice and went back down to the kitchen to finish breakfast like she always did.

Finding my white shirt and grey school skirt I pulled on my clothes and went to the bathroom, while grabbing the navy and red school tie, to wash my face and fix my hair. A good splash of cold water and a bit of scrubbing with a wash cloth usually did just the thing to wake me up the rest of the way. With a quick brush through my hair and letting it part wherever it happened to fall I took one final look at myself in the mirror. Ordinary blue eyes stared at my ordinary brown hair and deemed it acceptable. It wasn't like it was going to get much better than this.

I made a face at myself in the mirror which brought me out of my ridiculous obsession with trying to look like some super model. I was never going to be what the world thought was gorgeous, and that was okay with me. At least it meant that I ate real food and still had my real face unclogged by makeup. It also meant I could have a normal, uncomplicated life. If you were average looking–in other words, boring–most people would leave you alone unless they were genuine, not that I had much experience with that.

"Gemma, your breakfast is getting cold!"

Once again, my mother's shouting voice brought me back to reality. With another quick glance into the mirror I made my way to the kitchen and took a seat at the dining table where Mum had set out a plate of bacon, eggs, and toast along with some orange juice. Nothing like the breakfast of champions to get the day started. At least, that's what Dad would have said, if he was here. His job kept him away from home a lot, but while he was here we had some great times together.

"You're moving a bit slow today. What's going on?" my mother asked as she finished cleaning the pans she'd used.

"Nothing," I said with a stifled yawn. "It's just been one of those mornings."

"Mhmm," she hummed with that motherly gaze that always saw through everything. "And you staying up all night reading had absolutely nothing to do with it, right?"

Busted. My lousy poker face did nothing to help me. Somehow she always knew. She called it her Mum-o-vision, her special superpower. Dad said it was her Wife-senses tingling since she had been seeing through his own little deceptions since the time they were dating. Personally, I was convinced she was just part psychic. Mum said I would learn this ability when I became a mother. I wasn't totally sold on that, but that was supposedly how it was supposed to work.

"Sorry, Mum," I muttered through a bit of toast.

"We've talked about this, Gemma. You know how bad you are the next day," she lectured gently.

"I know. I couldn't help it. I just get sucked in, and one hour turns to two. It's just downhill after that."

"We had a deal, remember? Stay up as late as you want on weekends, but school nights you put the books away. I don't want to have to become the evil mum who has to lock all the books up to make sure you get some decent sleep."

"I promise, Mum. I'll even go to bed early tonight, if that'll make you happy," I said in an effort to placate her.

"What will make me happy is you getting a move on it. You're going to be late for school."

I glanced over at the clock to see that it was seven. That meant that the bus would be here sometime in the next two minutes. If I missed the bus, I would have to beg Mum to drive me to school. Somehow I got the feeling she wouldn't be feeling all too generous this morning given that she'd already figured out I had been up all night reading...again.

"I'll be fine, Mum. Don't worry," I said as I quickly scarffed down the last of my breakfast.

"'Don't worry' is the last thing a child should ever say to a parent. It just makes us worry more."

I smile at her knowing she's only half serious.

"Don't forget your blazer!"

I quickly run back to my mum and grab the blazer off her shouting a 'thank you' as I rush towards the door and onto the school bus waiting near my house.

"Cutting it a bit fine this morning?"

I turned around a bit in my seat and faced Laurence, the boy I had been sitting next to on the bus for the last couple of years. He was in the year below me and halfway through his GCSE's. We were still in the first couple of weeks of school and it was still rather obvious that I hadn't quite got used to the early mornings yet.

"Just a bit," I answered, which brought a brief smile to Laurence's face, before double checking that all of my schoolbooks and homework were in my bag. We spent the rest of the journey in silence as I tried not to fall back to sleep.

Once we arrived at school I made my way to registration to sign in–which was silly since the teachers just took attendance when you got to class anyway–feeling very thankful that I was now in sixth form, the last two years of high school which came with a whole set of privileges like being able to bring your mobile phone to school, providing it was on silent, and not having to queue outside in lines but stay in the warm building. It was now drawing into autumn, and I could start to feel the promise of a winter chill as I drew my blazer closer, cursing myself for forgetting a coat.

Spotting one of the few friends that I had left in school, I made a beeline for our usual desk. Most of the girls had left after their GCSE's–which I am sure is the government's answer to torture by giving all schools a national standardised test for all sixteen year olds that takes two years of our education to prepare for–choosing to go to college for the next two years rather than stay on for sixth form and do their A levels, the next round of torture that once again takes another two years to complete.

"Have you heard?"

"Heard what?" I asked inclining my head towards my friend Laura. She was everything I was not: she was confident and outgoing, she always seemed to able to say the right things at the right time, and I suppose it helped that she looked like a supermodel.

"That Mark Voltan is coming to our school to talk about our future!"

"Mark who?"

"Oh, Gem, you're so useless sometimes. Mark Voltan is one of the youngest successful entrepreneurs. At twenty one he owns one of the fastest growing import and export companies specialising in the moving of rare artefacts between museums and such. He's also been voted one of the top ten hottest bachelors in nearly every gossip magazine there is… and he's coming here… to our school… in Aberdare!"

I shook my head in exasperation as Laura seemed to be vibrating in her seat with excitement. Before I could comment further the bell rang, and we headed in opposite directions as Laura went to her art class, and I went to my English literature class. The class size was really small with only five other students as not many people had signed up for this option. Despite reading being one of my favourite pastimes, I always dread this class as the teacher seems to pick me out to answer all the questions as we are quite a quiet group.

The classroom was surprisingly empty when I got there and taking a brief look at the desk I saw a list of classes and assignments, which meant that the teacher wasn't in today. Writing down the essay title that she wanted us to work on, I once again relished in being a sixth former and not having to deal with substitute teachers since not only are we given more independence, but the subject content is more in-depth than what they are qualified for.

Not really feeling like starting the essay yet, I made my way to the sixth form common room and took out the book that had gotten me into trouble with my mum this morning: _Twilight_ by Stephenie Meyer. There is something about this series that just keeps drawing me in. I could read about Bella and Edward for days on end. It didn't seem to matter how many times I read this series; I could just never seem to get enough. They also reminded me of what my life was. That is, what I wish my life was. Aberdare, Wales was a lot like Forks, Washington: not very large and very boring. We even got a bit more than our fair share of rain. Now all that was missing was some mysterious boy that would fall madly in love with me and sweep away to his world. Vampire was a bit unrealistic, but there was such thing as modern day Prince Charming. Of course, they always went for people more like Laura: confident, charismatic, and gorgeous. So much for Prince Charming.

The rest of the school day passed quickly, and all too soon I was on the school bus making my way back home. The house was empty when I arrived, which wasn't too surprising as my mother often worked late now that I was older and more able to look after myself. Heading into the kitchen I grabbed a load of ingredients from the fridge before settling to make some spaghetti bolognaise.

While frying the meat I went through the list of homework that I had for that evening, which wasn't much as I had done quite a bit of it the previous couple of nights. Adding the onions and then eventually the sauce I placed some spaghetti into a separate saucepan and started to grate some cheese. When dinner was ready I set aside a plate for my mum that she could heat up later and went up to my room to eat while starting my English essay.

Placing my essay aside I glanced at the time and realised that I had been working for a couple of hours. Deciding that I deserved a well-earned break I grabbed the next book in the _Twilight _series, having finished the previous one in school, and lost myself within the world of vampires and werewolves… or shape shifters if you really wanted to get technical.

I sighed as I wearily placed the bookmark into my worn copy of _New Moon_. Glancing over at the clock on my bedside table I now understood why my eyes had been feeling heavier; my mum wasn't going to be pleased about this in the morning. Despite closing the book, I was reluctant to put it down. I desperately wanted to read to the end or at least until Bella left Italy. I could feel another yawn coming and knew that my fight against sleep had failed. I placed _New Moon_ into my bag on the floor that held the other books in the series and slipped into a dreamless sleep.

My eyes fluttered open as my mind pondered on why my alarm hadn't woken me up. Stretching out my arm I tried to find my alarm clock, but all I met was air where my bedside table should have been. It was at that moment that I realized I was no longer on my nice, comfy bed. No, the surface beneath me was hard, cold, and most assuredly not my bedroom floor. That floor was carpeted. The surface beneath me was marble. Confusion and panic started to cloud my mind as my gaze darted around in an attempt to figure out what the heck was going on. This wasn't my room. This wasn't even my house. Feeling out of depth, I almost looked for a little black dog as I thought, _Toto we're not in Kansas anymore._

**A/N- **So I was going to wait until tomorrow to post this but I was feeling very impatient so I hope you liked this. If you didn't catch it I have changed the preface, I am currently rewriting this story to give it a bit of depth that it was lacking with the help of an amazing beta FireStallion. Hopefully the next chapter will be up in the next week or two.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Tawny Owl


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer- I do not own twilight.

I didn't have time to figure out how I had gotten to…well, wherever I was. I needed to figure out where 'here' was and try to find a way home. I scanned the area around me to see that I was in some sort of stone hallway dimly lit by sconces spread out every few feet. I stood and was about make my way down the corridor when I practically tripped over my own bag. I stared down at it dumbly for a moment. I didn't remember grabbing it. So why was it here?

Picking it up, I peered in at its contents: all four _Twilight_ books. They wouldn't do me much good here, but they told me this all had to be some strange dream. Why else could they possibly be here? How else could I possibly be here? Somehow this knowledge did little to ease the fear that was knotting up my stomach. Slipping the strap over my shoulder I started to make my way down the corridor.

Moving through from one corridor to the next I tried to suppress a shiver as the cold seemed to creep under my skin clinging to my very being. The fact that I was wearing a tank top wasn't helping the situation. I couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of person would want to live in such a frigid place.

The corridor started to come to an end as it intersected with another hallway leaving me few options of where to go next. I was about to make up my mind on which direction to take when I heard footsteps coming from one end the intersecting hallway. Panicking, I looked around for a place to hide. I knew I wasn't supposed to be here, and whoever lived here would not be very happy when they found me. Several feet behind me was an inset in the wall where a light had been placed. It wasn't very large, but it was just big enough to hide me. I raced back and hid in the crevice, clutching my bag closer to keep it from sticking out.

The footsteps were getting closer, and for a moment they seemed to stop. Why were they stopping? Had the person heard me? No, they couldn't have. I had no shoes on which made me all but silent on the stone floor. I held my breath as whoever had stopped seemed to just stand there waiting for something. Shutting my eyes I tried willing the being away, praying that it would be soon.

Just as I thought my heart would leap from my chest I could hear the sound of the footsteps continuing down the hall away from me. I let out my breath on a sigh of relief. I almost felt like berating myself for being so silly. This was all just a dream. What was the worst that could happen? Even if that person had found me, I would have just woken up shortly after.

In another instant something—or someone—was grabbing my wrist and yanking me from my hiding spot. My heart began racing, and I tried to scream, but another strong hand clamped over my mouth, halting the sound as my back was pressed firmly against the wall. The person hovering over me now was decidedly male, and his nose was pressed against the flesh of my neck inhaling deeply.

"How did a small thing like you manage to get down here?" he purred in my ear. His voice was silky smooth, which did nothing to soothe my fears. It was the voice of a predator that had caught its prey.

"Now, now, Felix," another voice that was younger but equally terrifying said. "We wouldn't want the morsel to die from a heart attack, would we? The Masters will be curious how she was able to get this far without being detected."

The one holding me, Felix, didn't seem overly thrilled about this, but he conceded to the other man. "Very well, Demetri," he said before putting his lips back to my ear. "Make one false move, and I will kill you."

I didn't need any second warning. Dream or not, the threat felt very real. Everything about this dream felt too real. Aside from the numbing fear coursing through my veins, I couldn't help but feel like there was something familiar here. I couldn't place it, but something in the back of mind was telling me that I should know where I was now, who these two men were.

I was pushed down several more hallways until we finally stopped at two large, intricately carved wooden doors. When they opened I stood in a spacious, circular room that was very reminiscent of the castles that I had visited with my parents. I almost wished that I was given more time to admire the workmanship. I mean, if I was going to die by the hands of these 'Masters', then surely I could be granted a last request, even if it is just for a small extension. The room was lit up by similar lights as the hallways as well as the light from the moon that shone through the windows. I wasn't given the chance to examine more of the room when I was pushed forward roughly enough to send me to my hands and knees. It was only then that I realized there was large metal grate in the middle of the room. This seemed a rather odd place since the grate took up a large portion of the floor.

My mind seemed to be in overdrive as the details from the last couple of hours came crashing over me. The three throne like chairs before me stared back at me, urging me to put it altogether. Then it clicked: I was in the presence of the Volturi. I could almost feel myself visibly relax as I realized that I must be dreaming. I mean, that was the only reasonable explanation. Vampires are not real, and as much as I have always wanted to meet the Cullens, I knew it was impossible.

_Lovely, Gemma,_ I berated myself, y_ou've been reading those books too many times too late at night, and now you're having nightmares about imaginary vampires. Maybe you should consider listening to your mother now. _

I tried hard not to fidget under the scrutinizing glare of three powerful vampires before me. Despite knowing this was just some horrible nightmare, it was still intimidating to be studied so intently by fictional characters. Almost instantaneously a gasp was heard as one of them stood forward and called, "Didyme?"

I looked to the one who had spoken. He was young looking, maybe only a few years older than I was, but those blood red eyes were not the eyes of a young man. No, those were the eyes of someone who had lived through history, seen plenty of bloodshed, and had contributed to much killing. Even so, those predatory eyes still held something more. Sorrow? It was difficult to say. It was near impossible to try holding my gaze with those terrifying eyes. Judging by his age and the fact that he seemed to be more submissive than the other young man that stood in front of me, I assumed he had to be Marcus. Looking at Marcus I compared him to what had been described in the books and what I had seen in the films and found them wanting. He was certainly, if nothing else, more handsome than either versions portrayed.

If this was Marcus, that had to mean the other young man that was giving him a cold stare was Aro. He was younger than how he was portrayed in the films, but that man couldn't even hold a candle to how terrifying the real thing was.

Wait a second. What was I thinking? 'Real thing'? This was all a dream. None of this was real. Since that was the case, I must have had a pretty good imagination, or at least a more startling one. That was it. No more books before bed.

"You are in a great deal of trouble, young lady," Aro said, effectively breaking me from my trance. I had never been to the headmaster's office before, but I imagined that this is probably what it would feel like, except the headmaster wouldn't try to suck your blood for being late to class too many times.

"I'm sorry," I stuttered.

"Oh, I have no doubt you are. Unfortunately, that will do you little good. I'm going to ask you a question, and for your sake, you should answer honestly. How did you get down here?" His voice was like poisoned honey: sweet and dangerous.

"I don't know," I answered. I didn't have a better answer to give. I could have made something up. Would he have believed it? Probably not. All he would have to do was touch my hand and know the truth. But I couldn't let that happen. I knew the whole story, of Bella and Edward and their child. What if none of that had happened yet? I wasn't going to help him by giving away the future. This may be a dream, but it was still my dream, and I was still on the good guys' side.

"I see you are still flustered. You humans have a nasty habit of working yourselves into such a worrisome state. So I will repeat the question, and maybe it will sink in. I will not give you a second chance. How did you get down here past all of our security?" His voice was no longer sweet but cold, calculated.

"I swear," I said, my voice starting to crack against my will, "I don't know how I got here. I just woke up and I was in that hallway. I wasn't trying to get in here, honest. I just want to go home."

"Well, since this has all just been an honest mistake, why don't you let one of us escort you out," he said, offering a hand to help me up.

I stared at it like a viper. I knew what he wanted. I wasn't going to let him have it. He might only be looking for how I got there, but there was no telling how selective his ability was. Maybe he could narrow it down. Maybe he couldn't. I ignored his hand and pushed myself up. He may have offered to set me free, but I didn't trust it for an instant.

"That's very kind of you," I said, trying desperately not to let on that I knew he would never let someone go so easily. This was it. I was going to die. Then I'd finally wake up from this horrid dream.

"Felix, take her away. Dinner will be here soon, and we wouldn't want her escaping in the mean time," he ordered.

I stared wildly at the burly vampire that began to stalk forward. I knew he could have just used his speed, taken me quickly, but where was the fun in that? They were vampires. Toying with their food was probably half the fun in enjoying it.

"Stop!" I exclaimed. They all seemed genuinely stunned at my outburst. Screams of terror they were used to, but orders probably weren't among the usual last words of their victims. "This is all a dream. You're all going to stop and let me go. You're going to take me home, and then I'm going to wake up."

Nothing happened. That wasn't right. It couldn't be. Everything I'd ever heard about lucid dreaming said that as long as you were aware it was a dream, you could control it, turn it into whatever you wanted. I knew I was dreaming. I had to be dreaming. Vampires didn't exist. The Volturi didn't exist. None of this was real.

Aro just laughed. "You young humans will never cease to amaze me at how pathetic you can truly be. Felix, take her."

Scared out of my mind I did the only rational thing a person could do: run. That was the intention, at least. Demetri sidestepped me and grabbed me firmly by the shoulders. Going on nothing but instinct I rammed my forehead against his. That was worst thing I could have done. It was like hitting my head against a slab of marble and had about the same effect.

My body went limp as my head began to throb. Darkness clouded my vision and the voices around me were turning into white noise. I was surely going to die now. If it wasn't certain before, it was now. The Volturi had few tolerances, and outrageous humans were among the least tolerable. Whatever happened, at least I would be blissfully unaware.

"Gemma, are you up yet?"

The voice sounded foreign to my groggy mind. My head ached, but why, I couldn't recall. What had I done last night? I didn't remember going to sleep with a headache, so why was I waking up with one so horrible this morning? In one disturbing flash I recalled the nightmare I had lived and shot up from my spot…on the floor? I didn't have time to figure out why I was there. My mother burst through the door ready to toss me out of bed.

"Come one, lazy bones. Get…" She trailed off when she found me on the floor. "Gemma, are you all right? Why are you on the floor? And what happened to your forehead?"

She was by my side in an instant touching whatever it was she saw on my forehead. I winced when she pressed on the spot. It must have been from when I head-butted Demetri. Wait. That was just a dream. It hadn't been real. It may have felt real, but it wasn't. So why then did I have a mark from where I had injured myself in the dream?

"I don't know," I said still groggy from sleep. "I must have fallen out of bed."

That seemed the most plausible answer to me. With luck, I might actually be able to convince myself of that. Maybe it really was what happened. I had a nightmare and tossed and turned my way out of bed until I landed on the floor, and somewhere in there I managed to hit my head.

My mother continued to examine me with that overprotective motherly stare until she saw my bag at my feet, the books spilling out on the floor. Worry turned into something between disappointment and anger.

"You were up all night reading again, weren't you?" she accused.

I couldn't even offer up a good excuse that would convince her otherwise. She'd know no matter what. I settled for looking sheepishly repentant.

"I asked you nicely, so now I'm telling you. No more staying up all night reading. And just so I'm perfectly clear, these are coming with me." With that she scooped up all the books and headed for the door. "You'll get these back when you can prove that you know how to keep your word, young lady. Hurry up, or you'll be late for school."

I didn't even try to argue with her. Getting away from those books probably wasn't a half bad idea. I really didn't want a repeat nightmare like last night.

Grabbing my towel off the radiator I headed into the bathroom to have a shower and try to get my mind off that dream. It didn't seem to matter though. No matter what I tried I couldn't shake off the fear from my dream, and before I knew it I was heading out the door to catch the bus not even sure if I had everything.

'_Felix, take her.' _

Aro's voice seemed to loop over and over in my head. It just seemed so lifelike, and I still couldn't quite explain the bruise on my head. I know that I was on the floor when I woke up, but surely I would recall if I had hit it on the side or something.

"Gem?" Something sharp poked me in the side causing me to jump in my seat. I turned to Lawrence, his face filled with concern. "Gem, are you okay? Everyone else has already got off the bus?"

"Yeah, just tired." Grabbing my bag I slung it over my shoulder before heading into school. I don't know why the dream seemed to affect me so much. I couldn't concentrate on any of the teachers, school passed in a blur, and all I could really say was that I was glad it was Friday and I didn't have to go to school tomorrow.

I tried to sit and get a start on my homework, but trying to focus on that had been just as fruitless as trying to concentrate through school. I know the nightmare shouldn't have disturbed me so greatly, but it did. I couldn't explain it, but the whole thing had felt so real. I couldn't remember ever having a dream, nightmare or otherwise, that had felt even half as real. By ten o' clock I finally gave up and tried falling asleep, hoping the Volturi would not make a repeat appearance.

**A/N- **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please review and let me know what you think. I would just like to thank my amazing beta FireStallion.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I woke up with a start and frantically tried to find my phone to check the time worrying that I would be late for school until it hit me that it was the weekend. Trying to give my heart time to calm down I gazed around my room and thanked my lucky stars that the Volturi didn't make a reappearance. Not having too much planned for the day I leisurely made my way down to the kitchen to grab some cereal and some squash to drink as my throat was a little dry. The house seemed very quiet and empty without my parents there, so after having a shower and putting on a pair of my lounging jeans and a graphic film t-shirt I decided on what I needed to do for the day.

Since I'd failed to finish off my homework last night I sat down to do so now. I worked on the rest of the math problems that I was unable to finish during the lesson and then moved onto the English essay that my teacher had set while she was away. Thankfully it didn't take too long, as I only had four subjects to focus on, and I was never really one who had the patience for doing my homework, but I knew that my mother would most likely check if I had done it later on.  
After I had finished I searched my bookcase for something to read since my Twilight books were confiscated. I didn't feel like starting a new book, so I chose one of my many worn stories that I loved. It was so easy for me to get lost in a book. I spent the rest of the day engrossed in Keturah's search for her true love as Lord Death waited for her to become his bride while my parents were out for the day on one of their 'date days' that they liked to go on every month or so. Everything about this story just captured my attention from Keturah's first brush with death wherein she convinces Lord Death to let her live, to their final meeting where she tells him of the man who is her true love and the one she will spend the rest of her days with.

Sunday was a lazy day spent with my parents. It seemed like the last of the summer weather was barely hanging on, so my mother and I prepared a picnic while my dad did whatever dads do to try and avoid anything that resembled cooking. We headed towards the Brecon Beacons, one of South Wales' National Parks. We were going to climb to the top of Pen Y Fan, one of the many mountains in the area, and settle down for lunch not quite at the top so that we would be protected from the wind.

"I noticed in your homework diary that you have a business enterprise day tomorrow." I glanced over at my mother and nodded while wildly gesturing to wait as I tried to quickly swallow my mouthful of food.

"Yeah, it's something that the school is trying so that we can get a better idea about the big wide world. They are asking a bunch of people to come and talk to us about what they do for a living." I took another bite from my sandwich and huddled a bit further into my coat wondering whose brilliant idea it was to climb a mountain in the autumn.

"So how is school going?"

Turning back toward my mother I answered, "It's not too bad, I guess. A bit more intense than what I thought it would be, but it's ok."  
"Any boys catching your eye?" I could see my dad perk up a bit at this, not only so he knew who he needed to be threatened away from his daughter but also because he's a bit of a gossip lover at heart.

This was such a typical mum question. "No, not really. There's just no one to fancy. They are either dating someone else or just urgh."

"What do you mean 'urgh'?"

Shrugging my shoulders I replied, "I don't know. It's just that none them have what I'm looking for."

"Have you ever thought that maybe you are looking for a fictional man like an Edward Cullen or a Prince Charming. Maybe it is time that you started to live with your head out of the clouds."

I wanted to roll my eyes at her, but I didn't. She did have a point, and I knew it. Honestly, I wasn't looking for Prince Charming to come sweep me off my feet, but that didn't mean I had unrealistic standards. I wanted someone like Mum had found with Dad: someone to laugh and argue with, to ready a sappy romance or watch a goofy movie with, someone who would listen and let me cry on their shoulder, if needed. He had to have a kind, loving heart and a joke or two stashed up his sleeve for when I was feeling low. Most of all, he couldn't be one of those typical 'bad boys' that Laura always seemed so fond of. There was just no allure in a person who would sooner hurt you than love you. Okay, maybe some of it was a bit unrealistic, but if Dad could have nearly all of those qualities, why couldn't there be a guy out there like that for me?  
"I'll think about it."

The trip to school didn't seem as long as it usually did, which was probably due to losing myself within my own thoughts while listening to music. During registration Laura couldn't contain herself.

"We are meeting Mark Voltan!"

I was more excited about a day without any lessons.

After the teacher had noted all of those who were in and those who were absent we were dismissed and made our way to the main hall. The chairs were formed in a semi-circle around the make shift stage where a number of people sat waiting. As I settled down into my own seat I looked toward the stage to see the man Laura couldn't stop chattering about. My heart seemed to stop in my chest as I struggled to breathe. They were here. I scanned the hall looking for any more of them, but none were obviously present. I knew I couldn't stay in the room, so grabbing my bag I stumbled over chairs and other people's legs in a rush to leave as quickly as I could.

Just as I made it to the end of the chairs I tripped over someone's bag and went sprawling across the floor causing a huge explosion of noise as chairs scraped across the floor and skittered out of the way. With red stained cheeks I picked myself up from the floor and once again tried to escape. Looking back my gaze locked onto the questioning hazel eyes of Marcus, one of the leaders of the infamous Volturi.

"Gemma, are you all right?" one of my teachers asked as they tried to usher the last of the sixth form into the main hall. Deciding on the best way to extract myself from the room I grabbed my stomach while putting a hand over my mouth, whispering a quick 'sorry' as I ran to the toilets knowing that it would give me a bit of a reprieve with the teachers while I figured out my next move.  
Within the safety of the bathroom I racked my brain for some sort of solution to my ever growing problem. How had the Volutri gotten here? It was impossible! Me dreaming a freakishly real nightmare about them was one thing, but for one of them to actually be here was something else entirely. Wait a second. What was I thinking? This was ridiculous. Laura had talked incessantly of Mark Voltan, which meant a picture had to be involved in there somewhere. I had to have just seen his picture and, in some weird delusion, made his face the face of Marcus. I had to admit, he was better looking than that actor from the movies.  
This made for an odd predicament. That little exit stunt I had pulled had caught everyone's attention, including his. I could stay in here until the end of his presentation, but then he might think I was running out because of him, which was true, unfortunately. On the other hand, it would be rude not to come back. But if I went back, the teachers would want an explanation or maybe send me to the nurse, neither of which sounded appealing. To use one of Laura's favourite phrases, I was royally screwed.

Deciding it would be easier to just sit out the presentation than risk facing that audience I settled in for the wait. The only question was what to do in a bathroom for an hour? Luckily, I had one of my books with me, though this wasn't exactly one of the situations I had ever planned on needing it for.  
When the hour was finally up and I could hear people invading the halls again, I deemed it was safe enough to exit. Maybe I could sneak past the teachers that tried to stop me and not have to explain myself to them. That would be wonderful. Packing my book away, I opened the door and stepped out from the bathroom...only to be run into by some idiot trying to get to the boy's bathroom door.

"Watch it!" I snapped, thinking it was one of the younger students.

"My apologies, miss." The voice had a slight foreign accent to it and definitely didn't belong to a younger student. They didn't tend to apologize, let alone even acknowledge a person they happened to run over. I looked up at hazel eyes and devilish grin.

Oh crap...Mark

**A/N- I would just like to thank everyone who has alerted/favourited/reviewed this story. I am sorry that this chapter took so long. I would also like to thank my beta FireStallion who really helped to keep me motivated**.


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